THE MATCH - AND AFTER
After 7 years, there has been an Indian team touring Pakistan for a cricket series. The one day series got off to an eventful start. See http://in.rediff.com/cricket/2004/mar/13india.htm for details.
It was clear that the players felt the sense of the occasion. The Pakistani opening bowlers bowled far too many wides and no-balls, which would be discussed at length during the day by the cricket commentators. However, the Indian openers also felt the nerves, I thought. There was bravado in Sachin's shots, but a lot of it appeared put on. Sehwag was almost sedate in comparison, initially. The unconvincing opening made me feel that the bowlers could get an upper hand. In fact, Inzamam-ul-Haq said that had the bowlers been more disciplined, the moisture in the wicket might have caused more problems to the Indian batsmen. As it was, there were a couple of close shaves : a catch off a no ball and a dropped catch ; Sachin and Sehwag both gaining lives.
Sachin, unfortunately, could not make much of the life, though he did hit a pulled six off Shoaib. It was nice to see it. Then, Sehwag cut loose, particularly against the hapless Naveed Hasan. The unlucky bowler began with many no balls and wides and his first over went for a whopping 24 runs ! The boundaries just kept on coming from Sehwag's blade. It was as if the proverbial floodgates were opened. I enjoyed seeing the strokes, which were a combination of power and timing, but the applause for those strokes confounded me. What was happening here ?! Did the Pakistanis fill half the stadium with our supporters to minimise the security risk ?!
The question kept repeating in my head as I saw the match. Good shots were applauded by tricolour waving fans and bearers of the Pakistani flag alike. It made me feel that there was something more than the one day international itself that this match would be remembered for.
Aided by contributions from Ganguly and Dravid, India ended with 349, a seemingly unassailable target. But one Pakistani, their captain, Inzamam-ul-Haq had other plans ! After the openers were dismissed relatively cheaply, Inzy and Yousuf Youhana set about going after the target in a systematic way. Initially, there were few risks taken, but as Inzy settled, the boundaries started flowing from his bat. An effortless leg glance, a lofted drive over the bowler's head .... the strokes kept coming and the runs kept on accumulating.
At the other end, Youhana went and Younis Khan came. He batted much in the same mould, giving his captain company and for a while, it appeared that Pakistan were on the verge of a historic win, chasing the biggest total ever to win a match. Sehwag and Kartik took up the bowling, Kartik concentrating on the leg side of Inzy. Then, Younis was dismissed and after a century at a rate of more than a run a ball, skipper Inzy edged one to Dravid, and he held what may possibly rank as one of his most important catches as a keeper ! Still, Abdur Razzaq and the innovative Moin Khan were at the crease.
It would require something special to turn the match firmly in India's way - and we saw just that. Shoaib Malik hit a skier towards mid on. Mohammed Kaif, fielding on the off side, ran to the ball with his eyes firmly on it. From long on, Hemang Badani was also running to take the catch. To him, the ball and Kaif must have appeared in the same visual frame. To Kaif with his eyes on the ball, it appeared there was nothing else, apart from the trajectory of the ball. I remembered the incident of Arjuna and the bird (When asked what he saw in an archery competition, "All I see is the eye of the bird !", said Arjuna. Of course, he then hit the bird !) Badani realised what was happening and dived and slid. Kaif leaped across the sliding Badani and plucked the ball and held it ! "Catches win matches" and if it is possible that a single, spectacular catch decided the course of a match, then this was it.
Pakistan entered the last over of the match needing 9 runs to win, with three wickets left. Enter Ashish Nehra, who had gone for several runs in his earlier spells. Ganguly had little alternatives, with only Sehwag, Sachin and possibly himself or Yuvraj to take up the last over. The first ball was not scored off, then there was a single for Moin to take strike. This man could cheekily turn the ball to fine leg or stand and expose the stumps and then hoist the ball over cover. He was innovative and capable of playing a match winning knock. Would he do so in the last five balls of this international ? Well, it did not happen yesterday and as the last ball was to be bowled, there were five runs needed for Pakistan to win.
Did Ashish Nehra recall memories of another match in Sharjah ? Did Sachin remember the scene of the Pakistani coach Javed Miandad hitting a last ball six off Chetan Sharma to steer his team to a historic win in Sharjah ? What did the hero of that win, Miandad, himself feel ? Here he was, gesticulating to Moin to stand aside and hit the ball on the off side. Meanwhile, a composed Nehra, Ganguly and a couple of others rang in last minute changes for the last ball.
Then, the final run up by Nehra as he came in to bowl the last legitimate ball of the match. It was hit high by Moin Khan, but not far and Zaheer Khan took the catch coolly at cover.
The match was over. India had scored 349 and Pakistan 344. India had won by a mere 4 runs ! The 100 overs saw 693 runs scored, the most in any one day match. It was the first India Pakistan match in Pakistan after 9 years. The match saw the highest score that India registered against Pakistan ever.
Yet, what lingers in my mind is not these bald statistics, nor the memories of the strokes played by Sehwag and Inzy. What I recall most, with a pleasant feeling of surprise is the applause that the Indian team got from the largely Pakistani crowd ! For years, we have been told that cricket is war to Pakistan, that the people there are unwilling to look at our point of view. We also learnt that the public there is unforgiving of mistakes by their cricketeers. However, here was this Pakistani crowd applauding the victors and at the same time saluting the efforts of their gallant captain.
I recall a test in Chennai where another captain played another courageous innings. The test had similarities to the one day international played yesterday. There was a century by a captain ; there was little hope of winning for the team that the captain played for and there was an equally sporting crowd in Chennai as well. Only, the captain was Sachin, the team was India and Sachin made 137 runs in spite of a back ache that affected him later. Of course, that was also a match that India lost. The winners, the jubilant Pakistani team took a lap of honour there and the crowd applauded as one man. I thought it was unbelievable and sporting and felt proud of Chennai then.
Pakistan can be proud of Karachi today ! Irrespective of the results in the other 4 remaining one day internationals, Karachi has set a precedent that augurs well for the historic Indian visit. I only hope that the cricket in the other matches matches the precedent set in Karachi.
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NOTE:
I had originally written this blog in another site. Since that site is no longer accessible, I am uploading it in this blog at http://fewidlethoughts.blogspot.in/ using the same date as the original blog dates.
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===== COMMON TEXT FOR ALL BLOGS =====
++++++ BEGINS ++++++
When I created my first blog, I thought I was
being clever by being "anonymous" and let my
opinions speak for themselves (see the archive !)
Imagine my embarrassment when I saw my name
displayed ! So now, while I still retain the blog
name as "Anonymous Expressions", I will only
request you to ignore my name and concentrate on
my opinions instead !
All copyrights and trademarks are acknowledged as
the properties of their owners.
The opinions expressed in the Weblogs are my
personal opinions. Please tell me if you spot any
factual mistakes or don't like the way I have
expressed a view. If I can see your point, I will
correct the mistake. You can email me at
kiran.suma@gmail.com.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
After 7 years, there has been an Indian team touring Pakistan for a cricket series. The one day series got off to an eventful start. See http://in.rediff.com/cricket/2004/mar/13india.htm for details.
It was clear that the players felt the sense of the occasion. The Pakistani opening bowlers bowled far too many wides and no-balls, which would be discussed at length during the day by the cricket commentators. However, the Indian openers also felt the nerves, I thought. There was bravado in Sachin's shots, but a lot of it appeared put on. Sehwag was almost sedate in comparison, initially. The unconvincing opening made me feel that the bowlers could get an upper hand. In fact, Inzamam-ul-Haq said that had the bowlers been more disciplined, the moisture in the wicket might have caused more problems to the Indian batsmen. As it was, there were a couple of close shaves : a catch off a no ball and a dropped catch ; Sachin and Sehwag both gaining lives.
Sachin, unfortunately, could not make much of the life, though he did hit a pulled six off Shoaib. It was nice to see it. Then, Sehwag cut loose, particularly against the hapless Naveed Hasan. The unlucky bowler began with many no balls and wides and his first over went for a whopping 24 runs ! The boundaries just kept on coming from Sehwag's blade. It was as if the proverbial floodgates were opened. I enjoyed seeing the strokes, which were a combination of power and timing, but the applause for those strokes confounded me. What was happening here ?! Did the Pakistanis fill half the stadium with our supporters to minimise the security risk ?!
The question kept repeating in my head as I saw the match. Good shots were applauded by tricolour waving fans and bearers of the Pakistani flag alike. It made me feel that there was something more than the one day international itself that this match would be remembered for.
Aided by contributions from Ganguly and Dravid, India ended with 349, a seemingly unassailable target. But one Pakistani, their captain, Inzamam-ul-Haq had other plans ! After the openers were dismissed relatively cheaply, Inzy and Yousuf Youhana set about going after the target in a systematic way. Initially, there were few risks taken, but as Inzy settled, the boundaries started flowing from his bat. An effortless leg glance, a lofted drive over the bowler's head .... the strokes kept coming and the runs kept on accumulating.
At the other end, Youhana went and Younis Khan came. He batted much in the same mould, giving his captain company and for a while, it appeared that Pakistan were on the verge of a historic win, chasing the biggest total ever to win a match. Sehwag and Kartik took up the bowling, Kartik concentrating on the leg side of Inzy. Then, Younis was dismissed and after a century at a rate of more than a run a ball, skipper Inzy edged one to Dravid, and he held what may possibly rank as one of his most important catches as a keeper ! Still, Abdur Razzaq and the innovative Moin Khan were at the crease.
It would require something special to turn the match firmly in India's way - and we saw just that. Shoaib Malik hit a skier towards mid on. Mohammed Kaif, fielding on the off side, ran to the ball with his eyes firmly on it. From long on, Hemang Badani was also running to take the catch. To him, the ball and Kaif must have appeared in the same visual frame. To Kaif with his eyes on the ball, it appeared there was nothing else, apart from the trajectory of the ball. I remembered the incident of Arjuna and the bird (When asked what he saw in an archery competition, "All I see is the eye of the bird !", said Arjuna. Of course, he then hit the bird !) Badani realised what was happening and dived and slid. Kaif leaped across the sliding Badani and plucked the ball and held it ! "Catches win matches" and if it is possible that a single, spectacular catch decided the course of a match, then this was it.
Pakistan entered the last over of the match needing 9 runs to win, with three wickets left. Enter Ashish Nehra, who had gone for several runs in his earlier spells. Ganguly had little alternatives, with only Sehwag, Sachin and possibly himself or Yuvraj to take up the last over. The first ball was not scored off, then there was a single for Moin to take strike. This man could cheekily turn the ball to fine leg or stand and expose the stumps and then hoist the ball over cover. He was innovative and capable of playing a match winning knock. Would he do so in the last five balls of this international ? Well, it did not happen yesterday and as the last ball was to be bowled, there were five runs needed for Pakistan to win.
Did Ashish Nehra recall memories of another match in Sharjah ? Did Sachin remember the scene of the Pakistani coach Javed Miandad hitting a last ball six off Chetan Sharma to steer his team to a historic win in Sharjah ? What did the hero of that win, Miandad, himself feel ? Here he was, gesticulating to Moin to stand aside and hit the ball on the off side. Meanwhile, a composed Nehra, Ganguly and a couple of others rang in last minute changes for the last ball.
Then, the final run up by Nehra as he came in to bowl the last legitimate ball of the match. It was hit high by Moin Khan, but not far and Zaheer Khan took the catch coolly at cover.
The match was over. India had scored 349 and Pakistan 344. India had won by a mere 4 runs ! The 100 overs saw 693 runs scored, the most in any one day match. It was the first India Pakistan match in Pakistan after 9 years. The match saw the highest score that India registered against Pakistan ever.
Yet, what lingers in my mind is not these bald statistics, nor the memories of the strokes played by Sehwag and Inzy. What I recall most, with a pleasant feeling of surprise is the applause that the Indian team got from the largely Pakistani crowd ! For years, we have been told that cricket is war to Pakistan, that the people there are unwilling to look at our point of view. We also learnt that the public there is unforgiving of mistakes by their cricketeers. However, here was this Pakistani crowd applauding the victors and at the same time saluting the efforts of their gallant captain.
I recall a test in Chennai where another captain played another courageous innings. The test had similarities to the one day international played yesterday. There was a century by a captain ; there was little hope of winning for the team that the captain played for and there was an equally sporting crowd in Chennai as well. Only, the captain was Sachin, the team was India and Sachin made 137 runs in spite of a back ache that affected him later. Of course, that was also a match that India lost. The winners, the jubilant Pakistani team took a lap of honour there and the crowd applauded as one man. I thought it was unbelievable and sporting and felt proud of Chennai then.
Pakistan can be proud of Karachi today ! Irrespective of the results in the other 4 remaining one day internationals, Karachi has set a precedent that augurs well for the historic Indian visit. I only hope that the cricket in the other matches matches the precedent set in Karachi.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
NOTE:
I had originally written this blog in another site. Since that site is no longer accessible, I am uploading it in this blog at http://fewidlethoughts.blogspot.in/ using the same date as the original blog dates.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
===== COMMON TEXT FOR ALL BLOGS =====
++++++ BEGINS ++++++
When I created my first blog, I thought I was
being clever by being "anonymous" and let my
opinions speak for themselves (see the archive !)
Imagine my embarrassment when I saw my name
displayed ! So now, while I still retain the blog
name as "Anonymous Expressions", I will only
request you to ignore my name and concentrate on
my opinions instead !
All copyrights and trademarks are acknowledged as
the properties of their owners.
The opinions expressed in the Weblogs are my
personal opinions. Please tell me if you spot any
factual mistakes or don't like the way I have
expressed a view. If I can see your point, I will
correct the mistake. You can email me at
kiran.suma@gmail.com.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
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